← Blog · Guide · August 21, 2026
GTA: Vice City Weapons Guide — All 10 Slots and Where to Find the Best Gear
GTA: Vice City has 33 weapons across 10 slots. Tommy can carry exactly one item per slot, so picking up a new weapon in a filled slot replaces what you had — which is how most players accidentally throw away a Python for a pistol mid-mission.
This guide covers what each slot holds, the best option in each, and where to get it free. It applies to the classic game, the Definitive Edition and the free browser version.
The 10 slots, and the best pick in each
| Slot | Contains | Best pick |
|---|---|---|
| 1 — Fists / knuckles | Fists, brass knuckles | Brass knuckles |
| 2 — Melee | Screwdriver, knife, machete, katana, cleaver, hammer, baseball bat, golf club, chainsaw | Katana |
| 3 — Thrown | Grenades, tear gas, Molotovs, remote detonator | Grenades |
| 4 — Handgun | Pistol, Colt Python (.357) | Colt Python |
| 5 — Shotgun | Chrome shotgun, stubby shotgun, SPAS-12 | SPAS-12 |
| 6 — SMG | Tec-9, Uzi, Ingram Mac-10, MP5 | MP5 |
| 7 — Assault rifle | Ruger, M4 | M4 |
| 8 — Heavy | Rocket launcher, flamethrower, M60, minigun | Minigun |
| 9 — Sniper | Sniper rifle, laser-scoped sniper rifle | Laser sniper |
| 10 — Items | Camera, night vision, thermal goggles | Situational |
The three weapons that carry the game
Colt Python
One shot, one kill on most enemies, and it fires from a vehicle. If you take one weapon into the late story, take this. Free at 30 hidden packages.
SPAS-12
The best shotgun by a distance — fast, accurate, and devastating indoors. There is a free one behind the surfboard in front of Escobar International Airport. Grab it early; it makes the mid-game shootouts trivial.
Minigun
Overkill in the best sense. Free at 60 hidden packages, and the fastest way to end missions like Cap the Collector. Ammo is scarce unless you are at 100 %, which doubles capacity.
Free weapon spawns worth knowing
- SPAS-12 — behind the surfboard outside the airport.
- M60 — in the western guard tower at Fort Baxter Air Base. Also sold at Phil's Place.
- Ruger — on the southern roof of El Swanko Casa in Vice Point.
- Katana — inside the Vercetti Estate once you own it, respawning.
- Body armor — respawns at every safehouse after 10 hidden packages.
Where to buy
Ammu-Nation has three stores — Ocean Beach, Vice Point and Downtown. Stock improves as the story progresses. Beyond Ammu-Nation, weapons are sold at Bunch of Tools, Tooled Up, Screw This, and Phil's Place — Phil sells the heavy hardware, including the M60 and the rocket launcher, once he is unlocked.
The free route: hidden packages
Nearly every top-tier weapon in the game is a hidden-package reward, respawning at your safehouses forever once unlocked. Chainsaw at 20, Python at 30, flamethrower at 40, laser sniper at 50, minigun at 60, rocket launcher at 70. That is a full late-game loadout for free — see the hidden packages guide for the locations.
Or skip the hunt
THUGSTOOLS, PROFESSIONALTOOLS and NUTTERTOOLS hand you the three
weapon tiers instantly. Full list in our
cheat codes guide — though note that a cheated loadout
does not count toward 100 % completion.
Try it out in the free browser version — nothing to install.
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